Carton blank setting-up mechanism



July 27, 1954 Filed May 2, .1951

'R. J. HlCKlN 2,684,616

CARTON BLANK SETTING-UP MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet l i? :5 f J a QZmnefitor (Ittomeg y 7, 1954 R. J. HICKIN 2,684,616

CARTON BLANK SETTING-UP MECHANISM Filed May 2, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2zliij J 3,1,1? 2

v 31wento1 t July 27, 1954 Filed May 2, 1951 R. J. HICKIN CARTON BLANKSETTING-UP MECHANISM s ShetS-Sheet s HIHIIII';

Patented July 27, 1954 CARTON BLANK SETTING-UP MECHANISM Robert J.Hickin, Rittman, Ohio, assignor to The Ohio Boxboard Company, Rittman,Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 2, 1951, Serial N 0. 224,202

4 Claims.

fixed die cavity of proper size and shape and pro-- vided with propermeans for plowing the side and end wall members, and securing flaps,into appropriate erected cooperative assembly to carton form, and forproper performance of this op eration it is essential that the cartonblanks be accurately registered in relation to the die cavity andplunger.

As will later appear, endwise register of the carton blanks is mostcommonly accomplished by a feeder mechanism which deposits the blankssuccessively and in timed relation to the reciprocation of the plungerupon horizontal supporting and guiding rails properly adj ustablylocated with respect to the die cavity and plunger and having upstandingguide members for en agement with the end edges of the blanks. Lateralregister is accomplished by mechanism which engages one side edge of theblanks to push the blanks into register with the die cavity, and usuallyto push the opposite side edge of the blanks into abutting contact withstop means properly adjusted in relation to the die cavity and. plunger.

Obviously, the effectiveness of these positioning means for properendwise and lateral register of the carton blanks depends, to anappreciable extent, upon the successively fed blanks being uniform andin flat condition when they are brought into engagement with thepositioning means. However, it is very difficult to keep paperboardblanks in uniform flat condition as they have a tendency to curl or warpin varying degree according to atmospheric and storage conditions, andthis is particularly true of blanks made from laminated paperboardmaterial, especially when the laminae have different physicalproperties. Moreover, the blanks, even when all are die cut from thesame paperboard stock, do not warp or curl uniformly or in a consistentmanner. In the stack of blanks in the feed hopper from which they arefed to the machine some may be fiat, others slightly curled or warpedand still others excessively curled or warped.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide mechanismwhich, in cooperation with the means for registering the successivelyfed blanks in relation to the die cavity and plunger of the setting-upmachine, will function to fiatten curled or warped blanks so thatoperation of the registering means will be effective.

To this end the invention comprises means actuated in timed relation tothe successive feed of individual blanks to the horizontal supportingand guiding rails, and hence in timed relation to the reciprocation ofthe plunger, for 1 orcing curled or warped blanks fiat against thehorizontal blank-supporting portions of such rails, thereby to insurethe desired registration of the blanks with respect to the die cavityand plunger, all as will be explained hereinafter more fully and finallyclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the severalfigures of which like parts are similarly designated,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side View of a carton forming or setting-upmachine of more or less conventional type with mechanism embodying thefeatures of the invention operatively associated therewith and shown ininoperative retracted position,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the bed portion of the machine,including the die cavity forming means, with a conventional carton blanksuperimposed thereon, parts of the mechanism of the invention beingshown in the inoperative position illustrated in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts or" themechanism of the invention in operative position,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken on the line 4-4 ofFig. l, and showing the mechanism of the invention in inoperative (fullline) position and operative (broken line) position, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail sectional elevation in part similar toFig. 4 but illustrating the mechanism of the invention in full andbroken lines, respectively, in operative and inoperative relation to acurled or warped carton blank.

As shown, the more or less conventional carton forming or setting-upmachine has an open framework including upright members I secured inerected condition by appropriately spaced cross braces 2 and stringers3, the latter providing a rigid bed portion to carry the membersconstituting the die cavity and the means for plowing the parts of thecarton blanks into set up condition. These members include side wallplow plates 4, end wall plow members 5 carrying end flap plow members i;and guide plates 1 (Figs. 1 and 4) for maintaining the end wall parts ofthe carton in proper associated plowed-up condition. A plunger 8 isreciprocated by drive means (not 3 shown) connected with a drive shaft 9(Figs. 1 and 4.)

Carton blank supporting and guiding rails having upright flanges l l areadjustably secured to the stringers 3 so that they may be located forproper endwise register of carton blanks with respect to the die cavitywhen such blanks are successively deposited upon them by appropriatefeeding means (not shown). Lateral register of the blanks with respectto the die cavity may be afforded by adjustable stop means l2 intoabutting engagement with which one lateral edge of a carton blank ispushed by a feed member (not shown) which engages the other lateral edgeof the blank. In order to prevent sagging of the carton blanksintermediate their ends which rest upon the supporting and guiding railsIi1ll, levelers l3 are provided having their upper, carton blankcontacting surfaces substantially in the same plane as the supportingand guiding rails l0. These levelers l3 serve also to aid in thefunction of plowing the carton side Walls into set up condition.

The parts of the machine thus far described are of rather conventionalwell-known form.

As representative of a type of carton blank for operation upon which thejust described machine is adapted and in the manipulation of which themechanism of the invention is effective, attention is directed to Figs.2, 3 and 5. This particular carton blank is made, preferably by diecutting, from a fiat sheet of paperboard material and is provided withappropriate cuts and folding scores defining a bottom wall a, side wallsb, end walls 0, and end securing flaps d formed as foldable extensionsof the side walls I).

As hereinbefore stated, carton blanks of this and other types have atendency to curl or warp, as shown for example in broken lines in Fig.5, and this departure from their desired flat condition often makesdifficult their automatic proper register over the die cavity for properoperation upon them of the forming members of the die cavity when theyare forced into and through such cavity by the reciprocating plunger 3.

In order to insure proper register the mechanism of the presentinvention, now to be described, functions to flatten a curled or warpedblank against th supporting and guiding rails Ill, and hold it thusflattened, while the feed member (not shown) pushes against the trailingedge e of the blank to move it, while its end edges are guided by theupright flanges ll of the supporting and guiding rails it, until it islaterally registered over the die cavity and preferably with its leadingedge 9 evenly abuttingly contacting the stop members l2.

This mechanism of the invention, in the embodiment shown, includes arock shaft Hi mounted in adjusted axial relation by collars l5 in abearing bracket it, and carrying clamped or otherwise axially andcircumferentially adjustable crank arms l'i adjacent to its ends, thesecrank arms being provided with fingers l8 thus oscillatable with therock shaft it from inoperative retracted position, as shown in fulllines Figs. 1, 2 and i, and broken lines Fig. 5, to operative depressedposition, as shown in full lines Figs. 3 and 5, and broken lines Fig. i.As will be noted by reference to Figs. 3 and 5, particularly, thefingers 18 are so arranged that, when in th operative depressedposition, they will overlie and press upon the end portions of thedeposited carton blanks.

Oscillation is imparted to the rock shaft [4 in timed relation toreciprocation of the plunger 8 by means of a rock lever I9 fixed on therock shaft l4 and connected by a link 20 with one arm 2! of a bell-cranklever 22 oscillatable upon a fixed trunnion 23, the other arm 24 of thebell-crank lever 22 being adjustably connected by clevises 25 on a link26 with a rock lever 2'1, Figs. 1 and 4, carrying a cam-follower roller23 which follows a peripheral cam 29 under the influence of a biasingspring 39, Fig. 1. When the roller 28 follows the circular portion SE ofthe cam 29 the rock shaft I4 will be maintained in such adjustment as tohold the fingers iii in retracted inoperative position, Figs. 1, 2 and5, but when the roller 28 travels in the depression 32 of the cam 29 thespring 3%] will cause the fingers it) to assume their operativedepressed position to exert an adequate but resiliently enforcedpressure upon the underlying carton blank, Figs. 3 and 5.

it is believed that the operation of the mechanism of the invention willbe broadly apparent from the foregoing, but it may be specificallydescribed briefiy as follows: A carton blank will be taken from a stackthereof by suitable feed mechanism, such as a suction feeder (not shown)and deposited upon the supporting and guiding rails i6, being properlyregistered thereby endwise of the die cavity by the upright flanges I ibut probably not being laterally registered with its leading edge ifabutting the stop means l2. lhe feed mechanism having receded, the camwill now have rotated st'ifficiently to permit the cam follower roller28 to enter the de ression under the infiuence of the biasing spring 3%whereupon the rock sha t It will be oscillated through the levers and lizages 2i, 2d, 2!, 2G and iii to depress th fingers 58 into operativeposition so that, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, they will press the car-tonblank firmly against the supporting and guiding rails it to remove thecurl or warp from the blank and thus insure that when the feed member(not shown) is now actuated it will properly engage the trailing edge eof the blank to push it into correct lateral register over the diecavity. When the blank has been thus registered over the die cavity thecam will have rotated through an arc suiilcient to cause the followerroller 28 to rise onto the circular portion 3| oi the cam surface, thusreturning the fingers It to their retracted inoperative position, andthe plunger 8 will, as it now descends, engage the bottom wall a of thecarton blank and force it into the die cavity to plow up and assemblethe side and end walls I) and c and end securing flaps d.

It will be unders ood that the carton blanks may be so warped or curledas to bow upwardly, as shown in broken lines Fig. 5, or they may take areverse warp or curl. In either case, or even when the curl or warp islongitudinal rather than lateral, the fingers l8 will serve theirdesired purpose inasmuch as, for proper register of the blanks over thedie cavity, and hence their register with the plunger, the trailing edgee of the blank will be so properly flattened out as to be engageable bythe feed member (not shown) which is mainly responsible for properlylaterally registering the blanks.

Various changes and modifications are considered to be within theprinciple of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a carton blank setting-up mechanism of the fixed die cavity andreciprocating plunger type, blank supporting means, longitudinal andlateral blank registering means, said supporting and registering meansbeing associated with said die cavity and adjusted relatively to theboundaries thereof in position to properly support and register a fiatcarton blank therewith, and means for insuring proper location of awarped or curled carton blank with respect to said supporting andregistering means and hence with respect to said die cavity and plungerin the same manner as a normally flat blank would be so located,including intermittently actuated means for exerting pressure upon theblank to force the same fiat against said supporting means forlongitudinal and lateral register with said registering means just priorto engagement of the plunger with the blank.

2. Mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which said pressing nzeansinclude fingers movable into and out of contact with said blank at areasbordering said die cavity and overlying certain of said blank supportingmeans.

3. Mechanism as claimed in claim 2, in which the fingers are mountedupon an oscillatable shaft to which osciliation is imparted in timedrelation to the reciprocation of said plunger.

4. Mechanism as claimed in claim 2, in which means are provided foryieldingly urging said fingers into pressure exerting contact with then-lank, and means for positively moving said fingers out of contact withthe blank, and means for effecting such yielding and positive movementof the fingers in timed relation to the reciprocation of the plunger.

